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About The Antique Harmoniums

The Antique Harmoniums is the creation of Jon Charles Fortman; our albums are also produced, arranged, orchestrated, and scored by him. They are also recorded in professional studios using top-grade equipment or in our own home recording studio which is also outfitted with pro-grade equipment. Our debut album has been described by fans as a "Rock Symphony." The group was conceived in 2003 followi
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The Austin Girls' Choir was The Awesome Girls Choir tracking my arrangement for the band for a new prog pop piece called "Magic Garden World" slated for the next The Antique Harmoniums album "Heirloom." I was prepared to go national to locate a girls choir and turns out I just had to hop down to Austin. Texas rules! Audiophiles: snippet not mixed or mastered yet but you probably knew that ;^) Jon Charles Fortman - producer, arranger, composer for The Antique Harmoniums

Another triumphant session at Panhandle House Studios in Denton tracking vocals on a "new" song for our upcoming album "Heirloom." Erik Herbst of Panhandle Studios was phenomenal, as usual, in engineering the session and helping me guide Kelye Robertson Carter, who also sang lead on "Gifts and Testaments of Robin Hood Road," through some pretty unorthodox sections for a pop/rock song. But we got there and then some! I penned the skeleton of the song Labor Day weekend 2007. 10 years in the making for this session - not bad for one of my projects!! For those of you curious - yes - that's a Neumann U47. Jon Charles Fortman for TheAntiHarm

We're darn proud of our manager, composer, arranger, orchestrator, and producer, Jon Charles Fortman. It's confirmed that the Civic Orchestra of Fort Worth, TX will be performing one of his orchestral pieces on two of their upcoming programs on May 6,7. Here's a link to the May 6 program. Scroll down to see Jon listed: http://fwco.org/concert-season/may-6/

This time last Saturday, we had just wrapped up tracking a women's choir on three new songs slated for the new album "Heirloom." It turns out we have our own version of the "Magnificent Seven." These ladies were, in a word, magnificent indeed. With this session now in the can [computer], we've now made a very significant move towards completion of the next album. In fact, the most complex piece on the album, "Belle Journee," is now fully tracked and ready for mix/mastering. Woo hoo!

One of our favorite artists, Peter Mayer, penned one of the greatest "year end" songs for which we can all relate: "One More Circle [around the sun]" when taking a look back at our year and lives in review. 2016 for us saw the beginning of the final phase of production for our next album, "Heirloom," which we hope to wrap later this year. We successfully tracked drums at the wonderful Panhandle House Studios in Denton, TX earlier in the fall and will be back there to track a women's choir this month. We're also grateful to have so many great folks stop in and indulge our work here at N1M. We love hearing what folks have to say about our work whether it is in praise or otherwise. The review of the year goes to N1M member David Longoria not only because he so eloquently wrote of and aptly described the elements that make up the character and flow of our "The Calling (9/11 ver.)" but because he also captured the essence of what we are as a musical entity within that very same review. We wrote David a very special thank you note for his words. Our best to all of you for a great 2017! May you all find your "calling." Enjoy your journey, TheAntiHarm

From David Longoria:

"Classical Infused Rock Makes For A Compelling Sound

The Antique Harmoniums are the brainchild of Composer and artist Jon Charles Fortman and his Texas based group. They are achieving what they set out to do some 13 years back- to blend classical orchestrations, classical instrumentation and choral productions with a gritty rock sound. Their unique taste for counterpoint and accessible rock progressions are setting their music in a vein that I can see getting some radio support in modern rock and eclectic formats and even as far mainstream as pop with the right song and promotion. The music is very well put together and is both catchy and musical. This production called "The Calling" brings the listener to a cinematic piece starting with a dynamic unison choral sound that breaks into 2 parts and sets up the rock portion of the blend. The lead guitar is elegantly played with an edgy yet clean sound. This nicely breaks down into another choral section that does more musically with counterpoint and melodies intertwining. The instruments build into a neo-classical horn canon that is quickly answered by the rock influence. It is particularly nice as neither the classical nor the rock sounds seem forced for the effect, rather a natural melting union of two very different musical world working in tandem to bring about a fresh sound. one that's both modern and familiar. I look forward to hearing more for this talented artist."